Investment immigrants are competing to inject capital, and charter schools are turning over.

Investment immigrants are competing to inject capital, and charter schools are turning over. Charter schools in the United States are in a difficult period, and some financial conditions are...

Investment immigrants are competing to inject capital, and charter schools are turning over. Charter schools in the United States are in a difficult period. Some are in poor financial condition, and some are facing the fate of closure by state government agencies due to poor performance. However, foreign investors hoping to obtain green cards have brought "life" to them. Wealthy foreign investors took advantage of the federal immigration authorities' "EB-5" visa program to invest heavily in these charter schools and build large-scale construction projects to obtain residency status in the United States for themselves and their families, and charter schools also benefited. Rich people from China, Nigeria, Russia and Australia are investing millions or even tens of millions of dollars to build classrooms, libraries, basketball courts and science laboratories for charter schools in the United States. Charter schools in Buffalo, New York, and Florence, New York, have seen investment plans by wealthy foreigners. Officials with the Florida Department of Business Development say foreign investment in charter schools is expected to triple next year, reaching $90 million. Investing in charter schools is so popular largely because foreign investors believe their investments will be recession-proof. A Chinese investment forum website promoted investment in U.S. charter schools this spring, claiming that such investments would not fail because the U.S. government would steadily provide funding to charter schools. According to the "EB-5" visa program, whose full name is the "Fifth Category Priority Employment Program," foreigners can obtain green cards for themselves and their families by investing US$500,000 in designated Target Employment Areas (TEAs) or remote areas in the United States, where the unemployment rate is 1.5 times the national average unemployment rate. If investing in other areas, 1 million yuan is required. Over the past 20 years, much of this foreign investment has been in commercial real estate developments, such as luxury hotels, ski resorts and even gas stations. However, corporate-minded brokers found a golden opportunity to make money from this visa program, "matching" cash-hungry charter schools with wealthy foreign investors, allowing one to get a green card and the other to expand the school. "The demand on the school side is huge, and so are the investors," said investment consultant Yun Gere, who founded Education Fund of America two years ago and specializes in helping foreign investors find U.S. charter schools in need of funding. He said he is currently arranging "EB-5" visa investments for a total of 11 charter schools in North Carolina, Utah and Arizona, with more deals in the works. He stressed: "This is just the beginning, this project will have explosive growth."